Greenville Public Schools Transportation Director Joe Knight explains the bus route maps that show which students ride the bus currently and which ones will be added with new routes for the winter months. (Daily News/Kelli Ameling)

GREENVILLE — Lower than anticipated spending this fall is allowing Greenville Public Schools to reinstate some bus routes in the city for at least the coldest months.
Superintendent Pete Haines said the district is running significantly below its projected fuel budget, allowing buses to transport some students who had to walk to and from school beginning this fall.
The area that is being targeted is the east side of Lafayette Street to Flat River and north of Fairplains Street to Water Street, Transportation Director Joe Knight said.
“Our goal is to restore school bus service for this neighborhood to the high school, middle school and Cedar Crest Elementary at least through the hardest winter months,” he said.
Knight sent letters to families that will be eligible for the new bus routes to explain where the stops will be.
The new routes will continue through the winter months and possibly up to spring break in the first week of April.
Haines is most concerned about cold temperatures during longer walks, sidewalks that might be icy and not cleared by the time the students walk to school, along with fewer daylight hours.
“Mostly, we are aware this has been a hardship on some families and we always look for ways to reduce barriers to success in our school,” Haines said. “We are pleased to be able to do this through the coldest months (January through the end of March).”
The district reduced bus routes in the city of Greenville this fall to save money. That required some students who had been bused in the past to walk to and from school every day.
Knight said administrators are working hard to restore all the services and reverse other cuts made this fall.

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I wonder what it will take to get all the busses running. Do we have to wait till a kid is walking to school, and chooses the street instead of the sidewalk because it is plowed. I would rather see a diffrent program cut than putting a kids life at risk.